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Why is my dog scratching his private area until it's red and raw?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My dog has been itching a lot lately. It's underneath next to his scrotum. He has been scratching so much there is a red line.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Laura E. McRae

Veterinary Technician

Published on December 24th, 2014

There are a number of medical causes of itchniness in a dog, including ectoparasites, infections of the skin (fungal, bacterial, viral), metabolic disorders, and even allergies. Sometimes allergies are to ingredients in the dog's food; sometimes they are due to irritants in the enviroment, like fabric freshners, laundry detergents, floor and carpet cleaning products. You should have your dog evaluated by your veterinarian. S/he will want to do a complete physical exam and may also recommend taking skin/hair samples for diagnostics purposes.

4Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers
Veterinary Technician
Published on December 14th, 2019
If the area is inflamed enough to the point that it smells and is oozing debris, it is very likely an infection like you suspect. This needs to be seen and treated by a veterinarian as antibiotics or other medicated prescriptions shampoos will need to be used to treat it. Until you can get to your vet, keeping the area clean and dry and using an Elizabethan (cone) collar to keep Shadow from scratching can help, but it needs to be seen in person.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on March 27th, 2019
Alone that abnormality isn't concerning at all. It does mean his red blood cells are a little less dark than expected, but with a normal red blood cell count it isn't something significant. As far as the itching, that can be caused by allergies to food, fleas, or the environment, or infections (bacteria, yeast, parasites), or other issues with how the skin is formed. If this allergy test was normal (and all infections have been ruled out), I would talk to your vet about hypoallergenic food trial.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on June 26th, 2019
Hi, and thanks for your question.
This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites.
First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.
If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.
Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc).
Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics).
Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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